My Goodreads

Recently, I found this pretty cool website called Goodreads, which lets you list the books you've read, are reading and want to read. It's a community of literature geeks where you can compare and discuss books. You can make lists of your top books, write reviews and even get suggestions for new books to read. So far, I'm totally into it.

I'm trying to remember all the stuff I've read before, especially from back in college since I double majored in English and journalism. I didn't realize it'd be this hard, but I suppose it has been many years now. Right now I've added about 91 books, I think. You can see my profile here.

You'll definitely notice that since college, the quality of my reading has dramatically declined. There's a period when all I read was classics. It's hard to read anything else while you're in school - no time to do anything else but study. These days I've been immersed in chick lit. Yeah, not too educational or mind altering, but it's a quick read for me. Usually I can get through a book in a day or two. It's easy and brainless but I like it.

I've also added a widget on the side of my blog that scrolls through the books I've read. You'll be able to keep up with the stuff I'm reading, but it'll probably be more chick lit for a while longer. Reading is definitely something I really enjoy. I can always get lost in the lives of those caught between the pages of a book. It's a great way to escape, to travel, to dream. Definitely a Paradise within reach.

Chick Lit Hotties

Here's a quick list of chick lit authors that I love:

Meg Cabot:
http://www.megcabot.com/
I love her "Boy" series, which are The Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl and Every Boy's Got One.

Jane Green:
http://www.janegreen.com/
She writes some great stuff: Jemima J, Mr. Maybe, Bookends and Straight Talking

Sophie Kinsella:
http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/kinsella/
Anyone who loves fashion and shopping to the point of incredible debt will love her "Shopaholic" series.

Honorable Mentions:

Marian Keyes
Jennifer Weiner
Jennifer Crusie

Chick Lit Only for Chicks?

As I sat in my car waiting for the light to change at the intersection of Piikoi and Kinau, something caught my eye. Crossing the street was a guy in his 20s-30s who had in his hand a copy of P.S. I Love You. I found this quite intriguing.

While I haven't read the book myself, I've seen the movie, which stars Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler. Now, for all intents and purposes, it seemed like the movie was targeted toward women. I'm sure not many men would willingly watch a flick that focused on how a woman overcame the grief she felt from the death of her husband. Described that way, even I don't think it sounds all that appealing.

With this said, I'm going to assume that the book was also targeted toward women and probably labeled "chick lit." So, you can see why it surprised me that this guy was walking around with this book in his hand for all eyes to see. Granted, it wasn't the original cover but you still gotta give this guy some credit for even reading it.

This new revelation brings up the question: Is chick lit only for chicks? I don't know many guys who would read something that wasn't sports related, let alone read chick lit, but it would be interesting to find out if men really did get into chick lit when no one's watching.

For the most part, these types of books all similar and have identical story arcs. Most deal with the fields of public relations, marketing, television, fashion and journalism. The main character is always looking for love and usually experiences some rocky moments before finding her true love.

Do guys find this topic appealing as well? Who's to say that only women have these issues when society seems to be pushing family life later and later in the game? Maybe guys can relate to this too and it's a universal theme? Maybe they just like the quick read (like I know I do)?

In any case, to that guy on the street proudly clutching his copy of Cecelia Ahern - Bravo!

Image source: www.barnesandnoble.com